--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The choice between starving and being…" description: "\"The choice between starving and being eaten is an exotic one.\" — Francine du Plessix Gray" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/francine-du-plessix-gray-19971_choice_the-choice-between-starving-and-being-ea_613160.png" --- # The choice between starving and being eaten is an exotic… ![“The choice between starving and being eaten is an exotic one.” quote by Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/francine-du-plessix-gray-19971_choice_the-choice-between-starving-and-being-ea_613160.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/francine-du-plessix-gray-19971_choice_the-choice-between-starving-and-being-ea_613160.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/francine-du-plessix-gray-19971_choice_the-choice-between-starving-and-being-ea_613160.png) > “The choice between starving and being eaten is an exotic one.” [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing between starvation and being eaten highlights extreme survival dilemmas and moral ambiguity. **In simple terms:** Extreme choices force impossible decisions. Key Takeaway Consider ethical limits in survival. Themes ethics survival choice morality Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical provocative When to use this quote - war - disaster - prison - extreme sports Key Concepts philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What would you prioritize: life or dignity? - Can morality survive extreme scarcity? A Different Perspective Survival scenarios often ignore nuanced ethics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Exotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exotic/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) ## Related quotes > [Oh, I'm being eaten By a boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor, And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/oh-i-m-being-eaten-by-a-boa-constrictor-a-boa-constrictor-a-boa/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [“Broken people don't hide from their monsters. Broken people let themselves be eaten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-zappia/broken-people-don-t-hide-from-their-monsters-broken-people-let/) [Francesca Zappia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-zappia/) > [Expeditions are escapism. The stuff that we're normally concerned about just doesn't matter out there. Tax returns, gas bill, none of it. Life becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-saunders/expeditions-are-escapism-the-stuff-that-we-re-normally-concerned/) [Ben Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-saunders/) > [“I live well! I may have been swallowed, but I have no intention of being eaten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-live-well-i-may-have-been-swallowed-but-i-have-no-intention-of/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [While we've taken seeds into space, and astronauts on the International Space Station have eaten lettuce they've grown, we haven't produced fruit in space,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sharman/while-we-ve-taken-seeds-into-space-and-astronauts-on-the/) [Helen Sharman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sharman/) > [People never know each other until they have eaten a certain amount of salt together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/people-never-know-each-other-until-they-have-eaten-a-certain-amount/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“Whatever we know as children, this is the world, eaten whole and without question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/whatever-we-know-as-children-this-is-the-world-eaten-whole-and/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [I've eaten things that didn't complain this much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-ve-eaten-things-that-didn-t-complain-this-much/) [Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/) > [I've eaten weird things through the course of my life. I've eaten wild game, I've eaten possum - possum's no good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pratt/i-ve-eaten-weird-things-through-the-course-of-my-life-i-ve-eaten-wild/) [Chris Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pratt/) > [I bought a box of animal crackers, but there was nothing inside. They'd eaten each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-bought-a-box-of-animal-crackers-but-there-was-nothing-inside-they-d/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [“I reported to work the next morning looking like something the cat dragged in, half eaten yet somehow still alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/i-reported-to-work-the-next-morning-looking-like-something-the-cat/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [“Alas! the forbidden fruits were eaten, And thereby the warm life of reason congealed. A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam, Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi-masnavi-i-ma-navi/alas-the-forbidden-fruits-were-eaten-and-thereby-the-warm-life-of/) Rumi Masnavi-I Ma'navi > [I'm not in the movie business anymore, and hardly any 70 year olds are. I always ask the producers: 'Are there no 70-year old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-dennehy/i-m-not-in-the-movie-business-anymore-and-hardly-any-70-year-olds-are/) [Brian Dennehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-dennehy/) > [I've always eaten out a lot as I live life on the road, so I never conceived of eating anything healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-wallace/i-ve-always-eaten-out-a-lot-as-i-live-life-on-the-road-so-i-never/) [Gregg Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-wallace/) > [Burgers and fries are an American staple. On the same token, my kids eat vegetables, and they always have eaten vegetables. They didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-thompson/burgers-and-fries-are-an-american-staple-on-the-same-token-my-kids/) Don Thompson ## More by Francine du Plessix Gray > [“A heart of fire in a shell of ice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/a-heart-of-fire-in-a-shell-of-ice/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [I think it's one of the reasons I wrote my book later in life. My parents didn't have these extreme alternations of conduct. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/i-think-it-s-one-of-the-reasons-i-wrote-my-book-later-in-life-my/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [“Ah women, women, my life's plague and chief delight!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/ah-women-women-my-life-s-plague-and-chief-delight/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [All our parents have levels of deviousness. We're driven to write about this discrepancy between the bright shining selves they invented and the monsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/all-our-parents-have-levels-of-deviousness-we-re-driven-to-write/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [Oh, save me God, but not quite yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/oh-save-me-god-but-not-quite-yet/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [I write because in the act of creation there comes that mysterious, abundant sense of being both parent and child; I am giving birth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/i-write-because-in-the-act-of-creation-there-comes-that-mysterious/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [“...in Aristotle...leisure is a far more noble, spiritual goal than work...leisure is pursued solely for its own sake...: the pleasures of music and poetry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/in-aristotle-leisure-is-a-far-more-noble-spiritual-goal-than-work/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [The irreversibility of time. That's the hardest thing to accept at our age, that's the most violent aspect of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/the-irreversibility-of-time-that-s-the-hardest-thing-to-accept-at-our/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [Americans and their desire to be novelists, the American novel should be listed in medical dictionaries alongside Megalomania and Obsessional Neuroses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/americans-and-their-desire-to-be-novelists-the-american-novel-should/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [We write out of revenge against reality, to dream and enter the lives of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/we-write-out-of-revenge-against-reality-to-dream-and-enter-the-lives/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [I think we're much more eager to know about our parents than we were in the seventies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/i-think-we-re-much-more-eager-to-know-about-our-parents-than-we-were/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [one forgives parents as naturally as one emancipates oneself from them - usually shortly afterward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/one-forgives-parents-as-naturally-as-one-emancipates-oneself-from/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [I venture that those of us who are most serene when faced with the possibility of nothingness are the ones who've reached furthest to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/i-venture-that-those-of-us-who-are-most-serene-when-faced-with-the/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [Why are there no great women artists?' sounds as ignorant of human geography as the query 'Why are there no Eskimo tennis teams?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/why-are-there-no-great-women-artists-sounds-as-ignorant-of-human/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [If I were ever to go mad it would be on Thanksgiving Day, that day of guilt and grace when the family hangs upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/if-i-were-ever-to-go-mad-it-would-be-on-thanksgiving-day-that-day-of/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) [Explore all 31 Francine du Plessix Gray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) ## More Choice quotes > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [“That’s all! Now either leave us alone or join us as a father rather than a receiver of sacrifices. You have the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-all-now-either-leave-us-alone-or-join-us-as-a-father-rather/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“Exactly. So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [I have too many options when it comes to guitars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-nielsen/i-have-too-many-options-when-it-comes-to-guitars/) [Rick Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-nielsen/) > [“Amazing how a small choice can change your life forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-c-dockens/amazing-how-a-small-choice-can-change-your-life-forever/) Randy C. Dockens > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Since I don't outline my books very much, I feel like sometimes I don't have a choice in what the characters do; they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-todd/since-i-don-t-outline-my-books-very-much-i-feel-like-sometimes-i-don/) [Anna Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-todd/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) [Browse all 8,092 Choice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The choice between starving and being eaten is an exotic one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francine du Plessix Gray" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/the-choice-between-starving-and-being-eaten-is-an-exotic-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/the-choice-between-starving-and-being-eaten-is-an-exotic-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/francine-du-plessix-gray-19971_choice_the-choice-between-starving-and-being-ea_613160.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/francine-du-plessix-gray-19971_choice_the-choice-between-starving-and-being-ea_613160.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/francine-du-plessix-gray-19971_choice_the-choice-between-starving-and-being-ea_613160.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The choice between starving and being eaten is an exotic one.” — Francine du Plessix Gray", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Francine du Plessix Gray", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The choice between starving and being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/the-choice-between-starving-and-being-eaten-is-an-exotic-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/the-choice-between-starving-and-being-eaten-is-an-exotic-one/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```